Grant M M, Taylor J J, Jaedicke K et al. Discovery, validation, and diagnostic ability of multiple protein-based biomarkers in saliva and gingival crevicular fluid to distinguish between health and periodontal diseases. J Clin Periodontol 2022; DOI: 10.1111/jcpe.13630. Online ahead of print.

Biomarker panels containing four proteins with and without age as a further parameter can distinguish between periodontal health and disease states.

This study aimed to discover and validate differential protein biomarker expression in saliva and gingival crevicular fluid (GCF) to discriminate objectively between periodontal health and plaque-induced periodontal disease states. One-hundred and ninety participants were recruited from two UK centres. Ninety-five proteins were identified in both GCF and saliva samples, and 15 candidate proteins were selected based upon differences discovered between the donor groups. The best performing panels to distinguish between: health or gingivitis and periodontitis contained matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP9), S100A8, alpha-1-acid glycoprotein (A1AGP), pyruvate kinase and age (area under the curve [AUC] 0.970); health and gingivitis contained MMP9, S100A8, A1AGP and pyruvate kinase, but not age (AUC 0.768); and mild-to-moderate and advanced periodontitis contained MMP9, S100A8, A1AGP, pyruvate kinase and age (AUC 0.789).